Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images; United States Courthouse court filing/Handout via Reuters
- Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyer shared a photo of the British socialite, who is in a Brooklyn jail.
- Maxwell appeared to have a black eye.
- Her lawyer said it could be from her trying to shield her eyes as guards shone lights on her.
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A first photo of the British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell from jail has been released by her lawyer, who said she has a bruised eye.
Maxwell, who faces charges of sex trafficking, can be seen with what looks like a bruise under her eye in the undated photo.
The photo was shared by her attorney Bobbi Sternheim in a letter to a New York judge on Thursday.
Sternheim said that Maxwell was not sure of the cause of the bruise, but suggested it could have been caused by Maxwell having to cover her eyes as guards shine lights on her, The Guardian reported.
She said: "While Ms Maxwell is unaware of the cause of the bruise, as reported to medical and psych staff, she has grown increasingly reluctant to report information to the guards for fear of retaliation, discipline, and punitive chores."
She said that no jail staff "addressed the bruise" until Maxwell saw the refection of her "aching eye" in her nail clippers and saw the mark.
She said that prison staff then "confronted Ms Maxwell regarding the source of the bruise, threatening to place her in the SHU [special housing unit] if she did not reveal how she got it."
Maxwell denies the allegations against her.
Maxwell's lawyers and family have criticized the conditions she's being held in, claiming she's being treated worse than other inmate.
And they claimed that Maxwell has been unable to sleep due to facility staff shining a flashlight into her cell every 15 minutes.
The judge ordered the government to figure out if this is the case.